Pneumatic thread holder for weft replenishing looms



R- G, TURNER Feb. 1, I949.

PNEUMATIC THREAD HOLDER FOR WEF'I REPLENISHING .LOOMS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 9, 1946 FIG-.4

FIG.

PIC-3.6

-1NVENTOR RICHARD G. TURNER ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 1, 1949 PNEUMATIC THREAD HOLDER FOR .WEFT REPLENISHING' LOOMS Richard G. Turner, Worcester, Mass., assignor to Crompton & Knowles Loom Works, Worcester, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application October 9, 1946, Serial No. 702,197

This invention relates to improvements in weft replenishing looms and it is the general object of the invention to-provide' improved pneumatic thread holder means forthe weft ends extending from a reserve bobbin magazine;

Heretofore I have proposed the use of pneumaticthreadholders for the purpose of tensioning the weft ends of reserve bobbins and also remov-' ingthe weft ends after they have been cut at the selvage subsequent to replenishing operations,

' structures the" weft ends collect at and tend to clog thescreen resulting in a material reduction in the pneumatic pressure tending to draw the threads into the accumulator. It is an important object of my present invention to provide the interior of the accumulator with an elongated porous tube presenting arelatively large .surface andconnect its interior tothe air pump. By this arrangement the subatmospheric pressures are created withinthe-thread collector over a large area and there is little or'no tendency for the threads "to-collect at anyone point and clog the air path.

Theweft ends'from the reservebobbins generally extend downwardly along downwardly inclined'paths'and pass through an intake mouth intoahollow" compartment connected pneumatically' tothe interior of the thread collector. When a bobbin is transferred. it isdesirable that' its thread become disassociated' fromthe Weft ends of the bobbinsremaining'in the magazine sothat when out it may be quickly drawn. into the thread collector. It isanother object-of. my present invention to: provide the threadholder with a bafiie or guide wall along which the weft ends extend andform the thread holder with an aininletso.positionedthat the weft ends will be blown .upwardly. along the wall for. the purpose of disturbing them to assist disengagement of: a cut weft end from the. bundle of weftends still connected to the-untransferred' bobbins.

It-is a further object of. the-.inventiorr-to provide arthread collector whichrdepends'from the thread holder and providetheelatter with a thread'opening-located preferably behind a line leading'from therintake mouth. to theaforesaid baffle. or; guide 13 Claims. (Cl. 139247) wall. When the opening is thus placed the weft ends bend around the guide wall and-then han down through the opening into the collector.

. In order that the bundle of weft ends within .5 the accumulator may be effectively prevented from reentering the thread holder proper, it is a further object of the invention to provide prongs, tines or the like which become embedded in the mass of hanging threads to prevent upward movement thereof but offer no appreciable resistance to downward movement of the mass of threads into the collector.

With these and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, my invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and set forth.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein a convenient embodiment ofmy invention is set forth.

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of part of a loom having my invention applied thereto,

Fig. 2 is an enlarged plan view looking in the direction of arrow 2, Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a sideelevation looking in the direction of arrow 3, Fig. 2,

Fig. 4 is a detail horizontal section on'line 4-4 line 9-9 01? Fig. 8through the lower part of the V thread accumulator and porous tube.

Referring"particularly'to Fig. l a loom frame ill is provided witha crank shaft H to reciprocate a lay l2 on which the shuttle [3 travels. A lever l4 appropriately-pivoted on. the loom isreciprocated by a rod l5 connected to the layand the upper end of the lever is attached to a piston rod l6 which drives a piston I! of an air pump l8 fixed to the loom. A pipe or: hose I9 leads forwardly from the pump, and the latter" has appropriate valve mechanism not shown so that upon rearward movement of the lay subatmospheric pressures are created within hose: l9, but the latter is sealed from the-pump during forward movementsof the lay.

The magazine M is provided with a, plurality of. reserve bobbins: ZlT-from. which weft ends 2| extend to a thread holderdesignatedi generally at H. .Atf thetim'eof: a weft replenishing operation a transferrer arm 22 is depressed to move a bobbin from the magazine into the shuttle, and at this time the weft end of the transferred bobbin moves downwardly from the other weft ends and is subsequently cut at the salvage. When out this weft end is drawn into the thread holder.

Except as pointed out hereinafter with respect to holder H the matter thus far described is of common construction and may be as set forth in my prior Patent No. 2,199,353.

In carrying my present invention into effect I provide a floor supported upright 25 to the upper end of which is secured a stand 26 bolted as at 2? to the thread holder H. The pipe l9 extends downwardly along the upper part of the upright and is secured thereto by clips 28.

The thread holder is formed as shown more particularly in Figs. 4- 7 and includes a hollow casting 30 having an opening or intake mouth 55! facing the magazine. A plate 32 is held in vertically'adjusted position on the thread holder by adjusting nuts 33 which permit a variation in the height of the mouth. When fine wefts are being woven the mouth can be narrow, but when coarse wefts are used the plate can be raised to widen the mouth.

vCasting 30 is formed with a thread compartment 35 sealed from the atmosphere at the top thereof by a cover 36 preferably transparent and hinged to the casting as at 3?. The thread compartment has a front wall 38 and a floor 39. A thread guiding'flange 30 extends downwardly and forwardly from the floor, and a threading slot 4| is cut vertically in the floor 39 behind Wall 38;and at the upper rear end of the flange 40.. a This thread slot communicates at its inner end with the intake mouth 3| as at 42, and at its outer endis extended upwardly to form a slot 43 in the side wall 44 of casting 30. A thread opening 45 at the upper end of slot 43 is adjacent to a vertical wall projecting from casting 30 and extending downwardly as at 47 from floor 39 behind thread slot 4!.

. When new bobbins are placed in the magazine their weft ends are drawn outwardly from the reserve bobbins and moved upwardly between flange 4D. and wall 4! and then vertically through the thread slot 4|. The ends of these threads adjacent the magazine pass through the opening 42 into the intake mouth 3!, while the ends thereof remote from the. magazine rise in the slot 43 and enter opening 45 and are then draped over the back of guide or wall. From this position theouter endsof the threads are quickly drawn through the opening 45 into compartment 35 by suction.

' Casting 3B is formed with a substantially vertical guide wall 50 immediately behind slot 4| and extending from the floor 39 to the cover 36. As the weft ends enter the intake mouth 3! they will be spread out as suggested in Fig. 4 and converge along the vertical edge of wall 50, the latter becoming a guide to produce bends in the weft ends as they lead rearwardly.

- Certain features of the thread holder already described are similar to the structure set forth in my copending' application Serial No. 626,462, filed November 3, 1945, now Patent No. 2,427,538. Such novel matter as is common to this disclosure and that application is claimed in the latter.

The outer rear part of floor 39 has a vertical opening'55 therein providing an air and thread passageway from compartment 35. Secured to the fioor and projecting down along that edgeof opening 55 adjacent to the guide wall 50 are. thread ensnaring tines or prongs 56. The cast-- ing 35 is formed with a disk-like base 51 shown in Fig. 4 from which extends a flat horizontal arm.

58 supported by stand 26.

The thread collector or accumulator comprises:

a hollow cylinder til made preferably of transparent plastic material the upper end of which is:

held tightly against the under surface of the circular base 5"! by bolts 6! extending along and.

outside of the cylinder 69. Wing nuts 62 engage the top of base 5? to support the bolts, andv the latter extend downwardly through open slots 53 in a ring 64 to hold the latter tightly against the bottom of the cylinder 5. When the nuts 62 are tight the ring or bottom 54 is raised against. the cylinder and lifts the latter against the base- Loosening of nuts 62 and a partial rotation.

tion by clips or the like 56 mounted'on ring 64. Clips 55 are movable to a position wherethey will release the disk 65 from the ring or bottom 64. A pneumatic fitting Ill is secured to the disk 555 by screws ll and communicates with the previously described pipe is. Disk 65 has a series of apertures'lil which open upwardly from fitting l0.

Disk 65 is recessed as at 15 and has set therein a tubular member 76 extending upwardly from the disk and having its upper end closed by a cover 11. A tie rod ii-l has a head is on the under side of the disk 65 and has a nut Bil on the upper end thereof by which the cover Tl can be drawn down tightly against the top of the tube 16. Bolt 78 provides the means by which the tube 76 is held in fixed position seated in recess T5. The tube 16 has porous walls through which air can pass when subatmospheric pressures are created within the tube. The latter extends substantially parallel'to and coaxial with cylinder 60 and presents a relatively large surface exposed to' the interior of the thread collector. The length of tube 16 is determinedby the amount of air which it is desired to have moving through the tube under any given atmospheric pressure. I g

It isbelieved that the operation of the thread holder and accumulator will be understood from the foregoing description. When the loom is run ning the air pump creates subatmospheric pressures on the inside of the porous tube 16 during backward strokes of the lay. This pressure is communicated to the interior of cylinder 60 through the porous walls of the tube, and thence through opening-55m compartment 35, intake mouth 3i, slotsfill and 43, and opening 45. During loom operation asrnall column of air rises periodically through the thread slot M in the direction'of arrows at. Fig. 5, and blows the weft ends up along the thread guide wall 59. This movement of the weft ends along the guide wall facilitates release of the weft end of a transferred bobbin when the end is cut at the cloth selvage. Such cut weft end is thus subjected to an upward pneumatic force in addition to the force exerted at mouth 3!, and these two forces quickly draw the thread into compartment 35 and thence to cylinder 5!]. Because of the size of tube i5 subatmospheric pressures within it are communicated to theinterior of the cylinder 50 over a large area and there is little or no tendency. for the threads to bunch" together in oneposition wherethey might clog anair'stream as'-:has beeir possible in' thread accumulators as heretoforemade.

From time to time it maybe desirable to removethe accumulated weft endsfrom the interior to the cylinder 50, and to facilitate this operationzI provide a door D hinged atBi to a' casting 82: having a parti-cylindrical:flange- 83 held tothe cylinder 60 by screws'84. That part of the cylinder adjacent to'the casting 132 is cut away to communicate with a'passageway 850p the interior of the casting B2. The door D is hung so thatit closes naturally by gravity but suction from within the cylinder 60 also helps tohold'it tightly closed; When it isdesir'ed'to remove threads fromwithin cylinder 60" the door D is lifteda'nd the threads are removed through the passageway 85. It is found in actual practicethat the bundleof weft ends hanging from floor39 does not collect around tube T3 and can be readily removed. Y If it should be desiredtt'o remove the tube 16 for a cleaning operation the clips 66 may be moved as already suggested and thefitting- Til, disk 65 and the tube removed, after-which nut 301s releasedfrom rod 18 and the cover H is removed to release the tube 16.

From the foregoing it will'be seen that I have provided an improvedform of'pneumatic thread holder employing a relatively large'cylinder iii! comprising a closedthread" compartment, accumulator or collector within which is located a hollow porous member or tube communicating: with a pneumatic means for creating subatmospheric pressures, such asthe pump Iii." The tube has a large area and by reason of the porosity of its walls allows air to pass from the interior of the cylinder 60 to the pump to create subatmospheric pressures withinthe chamber or thread compartment 35. The'method ofmounting the cylinder 60' assures that it is air-tight except for the intake mouth 3|, thread slots and 43', and inlet 45. It will also be seen that the tube i6 is supported by a ring or bottom- Bfwhich in effect is abase for the cylinder-'6'0 "and"that al'-' though the tube 16 is normally in fixed position with respect to the cylinder it can be-removed'for cleaning purposes. The ring and disk 65 together constitute aclosure for the bottom of cylinder 60! Furthermore, the prongs or tines'fiddepend ing fromthat edge of opening 55 adjacent to vwall 5|] insure retention of the bundle ofiweft threads within the cylinder 50" after they have passed through the opening 55; Also, the thread slot 4'1 is so disposed with respect to the guide 'wall'bil that the weft ends are subjected to an upward force along said wall; and a thread cut at the selvage and extending into theintake mouth 3! will be blown upwardly as well as inwardly into the threadcompartment 35;

The prongs depending from the floor of the thread holder into the thread accumulator or collector for engagement with the weft ends, al though" shown herein, are not claimed in this present application, but are the subject matter of "a continuation inpart application Serial No. 784,791, filed byme on. November 8, 1947.

Having thus described my invention it will be seen that changes and modifications may be made therein by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the inven tion and I do not wish to be limited to the details herein disclosed, but what I claim is:

1. In a pneumatic thread holder having an in- 6, take mouth for theweft endsiextending froin reserve -bobbins in-a loomrprovidedwith' pneumatic meanswto create subatmospheric pressures, hollow means communicating pneumatically with said 'mouth, a -thr'ead accumulatorunder said hollowl means-pneumatically connected to the latter byimeans ofianaopening. insaid hollow means and also connectedipneumatically to said pneumatic means; afJthreadJg-uide'Within the hollow means having: a: substantially vertical thread engaging edge intermediatesthemouth' and opening along which::=;the-'v weft ends extend, saidhollow means havingeaa threadslot' extending upwardly from thei-loWer part thereof andcausing a draft of air to -be directed upwardly against said weft ends.

Imaipneumatic thread holder having an intakesmouth for-the wefti ends extending from resenve bobbins inia loomprovided with pneumatic means'tocreate subatmospheric pressures, holl'ow means communicating pneumatically with saidmouth an'dfhaving a floor in which. a thread receiving opening: is formed, a hollow thread accumulator" depending; from the hollow means communicating pneumatically with the interior of 'said' -hollow means through said opening and connected pneumatically with said pneumatic meansyand a thread guide within said hollow means having avertical. edge intermediate the mouth and opening forward of the latter and along whicli the weft ends extend when leading from the mouth to the opening, said floor havmg as'ubstanti'ally vertical thread slot therein forwardof 'saidvertical edge through which air is drawn-upwardlyagainst the weft ends to lift them fromthefloor. I

3121111 apneumatic' thread holder for the weft ends-i ofacweft replenishing loom, said holder cc'nr'iprisinga: hollow body containing a, thread compartment in which subatmospheric pressures can-be created; said holder having a thread intakemouth and ath'read aperture spaced from the mouth and havingals'o a thread slot connecting said mouth and aperture, and a thread guide on said holder behind said aperture and over and behind which can hang the Weft ends which extend through the mouth and aperture to be out of the path of weft ends which are inserted into the thread slot from a position in front of the guide. I

4: In thread control mechanism for the weft end'sof a weft replenishing loom, a thread holder comprising a hollow body having a floor and formed with a thread compartment above the floor, said holder having an intake mouth to receive the weft ends, a hollow thread collector depending from said floor, the latter having an opening therein pneumatically connecting said thread compartment with the interior of the thread collector, pneumatic means by which subatmospheric-pressures can be created within the thread collector, and detachable means deriving I porting said porous tube on said closure means,

said porous tube effective when subatmospheric pressures are created therein to create subatmospheric pressures within said hollow body.

7. In a thread collector for the weft ends of of a weft replenishing loom, a hollow body to receive the weft ends having an open end, closure means for said open end of said hollow body including two parts, one of said parts being fitted to the hollow body and the other part being fitted to said one part, detachable means holding said parts together, and hollow pneumatic means supported by said other part, said pneumatic means being removable with said other part when the latter is detached from said one part.

8. In a thread collector for a pneumatic weft end holder of a weft replenishing loom, a hollow thread collecting member for the weft ends, closure means to seal the interior of the hollow member from the atmosphere and including two parts one of which fits said hollow member and the other of which fits said one part, a hollow member within said thread collecting member having porous walls, detachable means normally securing said hollow porous member to said other'part, detachable means normally connecting said parts together, and detachable means normally-holding the closure means suspended from the weft end holder, said porous member being removable from said other part when the latter is detached from said one part.

9. In a thread holder for the weft ends of a weft replenishing loom, said holder comprising a hollow member having a thread compartment therein and having also a thread slot therein on the under side thereof connecting the compartment to the atmosphere, a thread guide wall extending substantially vertically downwardly from one side of said thread slot, and a second thread guide wall extending downwardly from the opposite side of said thread slot and obliquely' with. respect to said first named wall, said member having a thread receiving mouth on one side of said compartment communicating with said thread slot and having a thread aperture on the other-side of said compartment also communicating with said thread slot, said walls cooperating to guide weft ends which are raised from under said thread holder toward said thread slot for movement therethrough and into said mouth and aperture.

10. In a thread holder for the weft ends of a weft replenishing loom, said holder comprising a, hollow member having a thread compartment therein and having also a thread slot therein on the under side thereof connecting the compartment to the atmosphere, a thread guide wall extending substantially vertically downwardly from one side of said thread slot, a second thread guide wall extending downwardly from the opposite side of said thread slot and obliquely with respect to said first named wall, said member having a thread receiving mouth on one side of said compartment communicating with said thread slot and a thread aperture on another side of said compartment also communicating with said thread slot, said wallscooperating to guide weft ends which are raised from under said thread holder toward said thread slot for movement therethrough and into said mouth and aperture, and an extension on the first named wall located behind said aperture over and behind which weft ends may hang to be out of the path of other weft ends which are moved upwardly between said walls and through said thread slot. i

11. In thread control mechanism for the weft ends of a weft replenishing loom, a pneumatic thread holder for said weft ends, a-hollow thread collector communicating pneumatically with and extending downwardly from said thread holder, a porous tube within which subatmospheric pressures exist extending upwardly from the bottom of the collector within the latter and terminating below the thread holder, and a door on the collector between the top and bottom thereof adjacent to the upper end of said porous tube.

12. In thread control mechanism for the weft ends of a weft replenishing loom, a pneumatic thread holder for said'weft ends, a hollow cylindrical thread collector communicating pneumatically with and depending from the thread holder, a porous tube in which subatmospheric pressures exist extending upwardly'from the bottom of the collector within the latter and having its upper end terminating between the top and bottom of the collector, and a normally closed door on the collector which when open affords access to the interior of said collector at a point intermediate the top and bottom thereof adjacent to said upper end of said porous tube.

13. A thread collector for the weft ends of a weft replenishing loom having a pneumatic thread holder, said collector comprising a hollow cylindrical member one end of which is adapted for close fitting engagement with said thread holder, a porous tube within which subatmospheric pressures can be created extending into the other end of said cylindrical member and having one end thereof terminating between the ends of said member, and a door opening into the cylindrical member intermediate the ends thereof adjacent to said one end of said porous tube.

RICHARD G. TURNER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent: 4

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,157,131 Sutton Oct. 19, 1915 2,020,529 Thorsten Nov. 12, 1935 2,401,593 Wakefield June 4, 1946 

